Plessy v. Ferguson: Segregation and Jim Crow Laws

Denying Rights

• Changes in the New South helped Georgia economically.
• Discrimination against African Americans continued, and gains made during Reconstruction were lost.

Segregation

• To ensure segregation, Georgia and many other Southern states passed Jim Crow laws.
• These laws were named after a fictional Black cartoon character.
• Jim Crow laws removed most of the citizenship rights of African Americans.
• Almost every aspect of life was segregated during this time.
• Jim Crow laws stopped educational, economic, and social growth for most Southerners, regardless of skin color.
• These laws violated rights of African Americans and took almost 100 years to abandon.

Jim Crow Laws

• It became legal to have separate drinking fountains, telephone booths, restrooms, hospitals, hotels, and schools.
• African Americans could not sit with white people on trains, eat in certain restaurants, or attend certain theaters or parks.
• Employment was often difficult, because there were only limited types of jobs available for African Americans.

Homer Plessy

• In 1892, Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the "Whites Only" section of a railcar in Louisiana.
• Plessy was seven-eighths white and one-eighth black.
• He could "pass for white" but was considered Black under laws at the time.

The Case

• Plessy claimed his rights had been violated and brought his case, Plessy v. Ferguson, to court.
• The 14th Amendment states all citizens are given "equal protection under the law".
• Plessy felt that Jim Crow laws violated this amendment because Blacks and whites are treated unequally.

The Ruling

• Plessy was found guilty by the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
• Plessy then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
• The Supreme Court ruled against Plessy, stating the 14th Amendment only protects political and civil rights, not social ones.
• Segregation was declared constitutional as long as Black facilities were equal to white facilities.

The Outcome

• The Plessy v. Ferguson case upheld Jim Crow laws and established a legal doctrine known as "separate but equal".
• The Court's decision impacted race relations throughout the country; segregation became even more accepted.
• Most southern states separated all aspects of life after the ruling.
• Facilities for Black Americans were almost always unequal in quality.
• In 1930, GA spent $43 per White student and only $10 per Black student.

Plessy v. Ferguson

• Plessy claimed his rights had been violated and brought his case to court.
• Plessy could "pass for white", nevertheless, under the laws of the time, Plessy was considered Black.
• The 14th Amendment states that all citizens are given "equal protection under the law".
• The US Supreme Court ruled against Plessy.
• The ruling was that the 14th Amendment only protects political and civil rights, not social ones.
• Segregation was declared constitutional as long as Black facilities are equal to white facilities.
• The Plessy v. Ferguson case upheld Jim Crow laws and established a legal doctrine known as “separate but equal”.
• Plessy, a shoemaker and insurance salesman, died in 1925 and was a devoted family man.

Disenfranchisement

• The Fifteenth Amendment protected African American males' right to vote.
• Many southern whites created ways to keep them from voting.
• Voting requirements like poll taxes and literacy tests were used by White Southern Democrats to keep African Americans out of politics.
• Due to the federal government's lack of enforcement, disenfranchisement was nearly complete by 1900.

Poll Tax

• Poll taxes were established in 1866.
• Voters had to pay a $1 tax before they could vote.
• Many African Americans were sharecroppers and were too poor to pay the tax, so they could not vote.

Literacy Tests

• Georgia passed a law in 1908 requiring voters to read a passage before voting and subsequently answer related questions.
• Under slavery, many Black people had not been taught how to read or write.
• Even after the war, education for African Americans was not common.
• Most Black Georgians were consequently illiterate, so they could not vote.
• Literacy tests were not consistently applied across racial lines.

Disenfranchisement - Voting Requirements

• Poll taxes - required having to pay to vote.
• Many African Americans were sharecroppers and could not vote.
• Literacy tests required voters to read a passage; the majority of Black Georgians could not vote.
• Grandfather Clause - A person could vote if their grandfather was allowed to vote before the Civil War.
• Black voters were not allowed in primaries, consequently Georgia was essentially a one-party (Democrat) state because of White Primaries.

KKK & Voting

• When the laws failed to disenfranchise African Americans, groups like the Ku Klux Klan used scare tactics and violence.
• They prevented Blacks voters from exercising their 15th Amendment rights.
• One of the Klan's main goals was to block African Americans from voting.
• Klansmen often surrounded polling places, scaring many African American voters away.

Ku Klux Klan

• The Ku Klux Klan burned black schools and churches across the South.
• Klansmen whipped, lynched, and murdered thousands of innocent African Americans.
• 482 lynchings occurred in the state from 1882 to 1930.
• Many "respectable citizens" were secretly members of the KKK.

Atlanta

• Atlanta's population grew rapidly during the early 1900s.
• High crime rates came along with booming population growth.
• White community leaders blamed the crime on the city's African Americans.

Racial Violence

• 1890 to 1930 was the bloodiest period of racial violence in Georgia's history.
• Growing racial tensions in September 1906, spurred by a contentious election and dramatic journalism, resulted in the three-day Atlanta Race Massacre.

Tension

• The violence began when Atlanta newspapers began printing articles about 4 alleged incidents where white women were assaulted by black men.
• The large number of unemployed and frustrated whites viewed Black Americans as threats to jobs and social order.
• Gubernatorial candidate Hoke Smith contributed to the racial tension with his appeals to white supremacy.

Race Massacre

• Tensions were high, people were furious, and White men began protesting in Atlanta's streets.
• White men broke into Black businesses, destroyed property, and beat the owners causing the situation to quickly turn violent.
• City officials tried to calm the mob, but the group began attacking innocent African Americans all over Atlanta.
• Eventually, the Georgia militia was eventually called in, but not before at least 25 people were killed.
• The race massacre drew negative attention around the world for Atlanta, "the jewel of the New South".
• A deeper segregation throughout Atlanta, and an even larger economic divide between the Black and white communities resulted from the massacre.

Atlanta Race Massacre of 1906

• The growing racial tensions were spurred on by journalism and a contentious election and resulted in Atlanta Race Massacre.
• Atlanta newspapers printed articles about 4 alleged incidents where White women were assaulted by Black men.
• White men rioted and broke into Black businesses and destroyed property.
• Citizens began attacking innocent African Americans all over Atlanta and city officials tried to calm the mob.
• Afterwards, the Georgia militia was called in, but not before 25 people were killed.
• The race massacre drew negative attention for Atlanta, "the jewel of the New South".
• The riot resulted in deeper segregation.

Examine the Plessy v. Ferguson case and its establishment of the 'separate but equal' doctrine. Explore Homer Plessy's challenge to segregation, the Supreme Court's ruling, and the impact of Jim Crow laws on the South. Analyze the long-term effects on race relations and economic growth.